Those Places Thursday: Arras Memorial

I've never been here.  I expect my great-uncle, Walter Harold BALL, wished he wasn't here either.  Well, I'm sure he was proud to be here as a soldier, alive in a battle, but not where he ended up - as a name on a memorial.

Arras Memorial, France

In July 2010, I was overwhelmed by the kindness of Jo Francis of Milton Keynes, who offered to take photos of the Arras Memorial for me.  We had never met, didn't even know one another, and yet she made this offer on a genealogy mailing list we both belong to.  Now, I knew I would never be able to afford to get to the Pas de Calais in France to visit this Memorial, so I gratefully accepted her offer.

I never met Walter Harold BALL, my maternal grandfather's brother, either.  He died on 3 May 1917 aged only 24.

Serjeant Ball, W. H. MM (centre of photo)

Happy Christmas, Uncle Walter.  And thank you.